


Child of the Moon

by Aeruthin



Series: Original Family Short Stories [11]
Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: F/M, Werewolves, Wolf Instincts, Wolf Pack, wolf!Hayley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeruthin/pseuds/Aeruthin
Summary: Part 1Set between s2 and s3. Inspired by Ansel telling Klaus he woke up closer to Hope after each transformation.Hayley has only one purpose. One destination which she has to reach.And she will rip apart anyone who dares stand in her way.Even if it is her Alpha.---Part 2Two contradicting images of her time trapped in her wolf form keep repeating in Hayley's mind. In one, she is fighting a vampire. In the other, he is holding her.Truthfully, there is only one vampire who it could be. But how does she confront him?
Relationships: Hayley Marshall & Elijah Mikaelson, Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson, Jackson Kenner/Hayley Marshall (implied)
Series: Original Family Short Stories [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1475669
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

The moon shines down brightly as Hayley strides through the forest, carefully evading the pools of water that had gathered during the most recent rain fall.

She can feel the lunar energy in her bones, supplying her with strength. Still, she needs to hurry. Tonight's moon will soon fade, and she has some distance left to go.

The forest grows thinner, and she steps out into a small, sandy clearing. There are no pools here, so she increases her pace, trotting through the grass. Her heart leaps, as it always does when she moves closer to her destination. 

She is nearly half way across when she smells the other wolf. She freezes, senses alert, and sure enough, a large male steps out from behind the trees on the other side of the clearing. He is slightly larger than she is, his fur a light grey. 

When she approaches, he positions himself between her and her destination. He makes no threatening moves, yet when she adjusts her trajectory, aiming to ignore him and continue on her way, he blocks her path. 

Annoyed, Hayley lowers her head and twists her ears backwards. 

_Move_ , she signals, baring her fangs and growling softly warning. She can take him down if necessary. She is stronger and faster than he is.

The wolf ignores her, and remains in place. His ears are perched forward, and he doesn't seem scared. 

Hayley growls more deeply and flattens her ears. Her tail flashes back and forth. She will not warn the other wolf again. 

_How dare he stand in her way?_

Still, he doesn't budge. 

_So be it._

She charges, propelling herself forward. Snarling, she snaps at his neck. He twists away just in time, and jumps back, out of her reach. 

_Good._

Now that the path is clear, he no longer deserves her attention. She starts walking, her opponent already half forgotten, when he darts past her. 

Once again, he is blocking her path. 

_Did he not get the message?_

The wolf lowers his head in a submissive gesture. His ears twitch backwards, as if he is worried. What could he be worried about? She is heading exactly to where she should be. 

Again, Hayley growls. Again, he doesn't move. 

This time she does not care if she draws blood. She bites down hard in his shoulder, teeth puncturing his skin. He yelps and tries to scramble backwards, but she drags him down, and presses him to the ground. Releasing his shoulder, her jaws closes around his neck instead. 

A soft whine of pain sounds in her ears, but she does not care.

He stopped her. He tried prevented her from reaching her destination.

He-

The attack comes out of nowhere. One moment she is biting down, the next she is flying through the air, legs twisting beneath her. She lands unceremoniously a few feet away, and it takes her a moment to regain her bearing. 

_Who had attacked her? Who had dared to-?_

She freezes.

Next to the wolf, is a vampire.

Instinctively, Hayley's hackles rise. She growls deeply, her chest rumbling in anticipation. 

The creature in front of her is her enemy, the antithesis to her kind. 

She will gladly rip it apart.

The vampire bares its fangs. How small they are, compared to hers. 

Without warning, she launches herself at it. The vampire sidesteps, avoiding her attack, but she has anticipated it. This time, she lands perfectly, and her hind legs propel her forwards as soon as they hit the ground. 

She slams into the vampire with force, knocking it of its feet. Her jaws snap shut inches from its throat, only kept at bay by the vampire's hands pressing against her shoulder. 

They roll across the ground, and it twists out from under her. Using its speed, it flashes back to its feet. 

Hayley regards him, panting. The energy of the moon is strong within her. 

She starts moving back and forth, searching for an opening. To her annoyance, the vampire doesn't allow her to circle around him. Instead, it keeps blocking the path to her destination, matching her pace. 

No matter. The need to continue has diminished somewhat. She has time to play around with this child of the sun. 

She snaps at him, feigning an attack. He doesn't react, but their fight has drawn his (and her) attention away from the other wolf, who has sneaked up behind it. Barely in time, the vampire dodges his teeth.

It backs away, its eyes flickering between the two of them. Its mouth moves, but the sounds it makes are foreign. Then his gaze lifts, drawn to something behind her.

Only now, Hayley hears the other wolves approach. The presence of the vampire must have drawn them out. Their scent washes over her. They are her pack, she realizes. And the male wolf is their Alpha. She should have known, should have been with them. But her destination had been more important. Is more important still. 

The vampire observes the wolves behind her. Together, they could easily take it on. 

It glares at Alpha, mouths something again, and huffs when Alpha doesn't respond. 

_Had it expected him too? How strange._

The vampire seems to hesitate. It looks at her, but without ears and tail, it is impossible to read. And then, in a flash, it is gone.

The sudden pull in her chest takes Hayley by surprise. A whine pierces from her throat as she launches herself after him, the need to move flaring through her. 

After him, after him, towards her destination, because they are linked, she understands now, they are linked, the vampire and it. The ground speeds by below her, faster and faster, until her paws barely hit the ground. 

She doesn't catch up with him as much as that she crashes into him. 

The vampire has stopped a few miles away from the pack, and she notices him too late. They slam into the ground, rolling over a few times before lying still. Immediately, she staggers to her feet, already continuing onwards, but he is too slow, and she is pulled into two directions. She whimpers, urging him to move. They need to go. She needs to go. 

He gets to his knees. He reaches out one hand, beckoning her towards him. She whimpers again, confused. Why does he not come? Does it not pull on him too? 

Slowly, she complies, even though it hurts her to move away from her destination. 

When she is within arms reach, his fingers bury into the fur of her neck. His arms circle around her shoulders, and he pulls her close. His scent is strong, laced with the sharp tang of death. 

Antithesis. He is her opposite, and yet she allows his touch. 

Wants his touch. 

He says something in their strange language. She starts to back away, but he holds on tight. He is stopping her, holding her back. 

She nips at him in frustration, and he responds by holding her tighter. A small whine escapes her throat.

"Hush," he whispers. 

Her body starts trembling, the energy of the moon slowly seeping away, drained by her fight with her alpha and the mad rush chasing him. He strokes her neck, his fingers trailing through fur, and she sinks into him, her head resting on his shoulder. 

She doesn't understand. He is not pack, he is a vampire. Even now, her relief to be with him battles her instinct to snap at his neck. Why does he not let her go? Why does he not release her?

Her destination still pulls at her, but more faintly now, reduced to a low ache. While the vampire keeps murmuring unintelligible words, her body grows heavy. She slips down, leaning heavily against him. The vampire keeps stroking her neck, her head and ears. 

She doesn't know how long he holds her close. At some moment, the vampire's hand stills, and when she pulls away she sees her alpha standing nearby. His eyes glow golden in the dim light of the moon. 

He huffs and bows his head. He wants her to follow him. Part of her struggles against the command, but part of her is relieved. Following her alpha is easy. Uncomplicated. 

It might make the ache bearable again. 

The vampire's hand falls away as she moves. Hayley shivers, feeling cold at the loss. She watches him with a heavy heart as he steps back. 

Her alpha nuzzles her snout, distracting her from the creature that is supposed to be her enemy. She licks him in return. Her alpha is calmness. He is safety. He is pack. 

When she looks back one last time before she disappears in the forest, the vampire is already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

The little wooden knight is clutched into Hope's tiny fingers as she sleeps quietly in her crib. Hayley leans over her, unable to keep her eyes of her baby daughter. A dull ache lingers, a residue of the months she spend as a wolf separated from her little girl.

Her memories of the Bayou are blurred into a mixture of running, hunting and sleeping, one moment indistinguishable from the next, her actions instinctual, with no rationality

Even now that she is back in her human form, her thoughts remain a mess. In the mixture of memories, two contradicting images stand out. In the first, she is fighting an enemy, her actions propelled by an almost gleeful desire to destroy her opponent. In the second, her blood lust is replaced by longing and despair, laced through with an incredible gentleness. 

The vampire in each of these memories is the same. Fighting her in the first. Holding her in the second. They seem only moments apart, but as soon as Hayley tries to make sense of them, the images slip from her mind like water through her fingers, with only a lingering touch of fingers stroking through her fur. 

It is not only her need for her daughter that keeps her awake at night.

"Hayley?"

She jerks up, heart jumping in her throat, fangs halfway bared before she realizes that it is only Jackson.

"Whoa, didn't mean to startle you."

Jackson chuckles, but he can't hide his insecurity. Hayley feels a pang of guilt. He can't help that she is ready to burst out of her skin.

"Jack. I'm so sorry."

She reaches out to him, and his hand is warm and solid in hers.

"Are you alright?"

Hayley nods, glancing down at Hope, her mind still on the contradicting memories. There had been another wolf too, she realizes now.

"Jack? Do you remember fighting a vampire in the woods?"

Jackson frowns, and Hayley grimaces, embarrassed, ready to change the subject before he asks more questions. Fighting the vampire she could explain, but sharing the other memory would be very awkward.

"Maybe," Jackson says after a brief pause. "Everything is vague, you know?"

Hayley nods and sighs, running a hand over her face. At least she had probably not imagined it, although it did not explain why a vampire would take on a werewolf pack. Or touch them. 

Unless...

A thrill runs through her and a sickening suspicion churns in her stomach. 

Jackson watches her, concerned. Hayley smiles at him, hear pounding, mind already half way out of the door.

"I'm going to get some fresh air. Can you watch Hope?"

Her tone is apologetic, and another flash of guilt courses through her when Jackson nods. She quickly presses a kiss on his mouth before slipping out of the door.

Instinct guides her through the city like it had when she traversed the Bayou, until she finds herself standing inside St. John's church, surrounded by the smell of human sweat, old wood and a wif of incense. She had not been in the church since her "sparring" session with Jackson, when the church had been empty. Now, men and women are gathered around the fighting ring in the center, watching two humans wrestle on the floor.

Elijah is in the ring as well, and gives pointers to both fighters as they try to pin the other down. He has discarded his outer jacket and tie, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. It has been a while since she has seen him dress so casually.

"Samantha, his left arm is unrestricted", Elijah says, his voice easily carrying through the church. "You have to control it."

Samantha growls, but the man lying beneath her is desperately trying to avoid her attempts to put his arm into a lock. They wriggle on the ground some more, before Marcel lifts a stop watch.

"Alright, time is up. Well done you two. Who's next?"

Two new fighters line up as the others scramble upright, patting each other on the back. Elijah's gaze lands on Hayley as he jumps out of the ring, and she smiles shyly as he approaches her.

"Good morning," he says with a small curl of his lips. 

"Good morning." Hayley crosses her arms to stop herself from fidgeting. "So you're a martial arts teacher now, huh?"

"Yes. We are slowly rebuilding our community."

Elijah glances away briefly. There is a sliver of pain in his voice, and Hayley knows he is thinking about Gia. 

"Can we talk? Privately?" she asks softly. 

Elijah leads her up the creaking stairs to the attic, which smells of dust and old paint. Hayley had been upstairs only a few times,and had never paid it much attention.

"I can't believe Davina used to be locked up here." 

Hayley glances around, allowing herself to be distracted. White drapes cover an easel, but the bed has clean sheets, and the room is clearly still in use.

"It is rather cosy, if you ignore the spiders," Elijah says. He points at the bed. "Although I did prefer the coffin."

Hayley laughs and shakes her head. 

"Talk about morbid."

Elijah's lips curl up further. He watches her tentatively, painstakingly keeping his distance, always maintaining the boundaries she set when she married Jackson. 

Had it really been his hands in her fur?

Hayley's breath hitches and she swallows, the true reason for her visit rushing back to the surface.

"Hayley?" 

Elijah rocks forward, almost imperceptibly, and the tension inside her skyrockets. Her heart jumps in her throat, yearning for his touch while wanting to scream at him for making it so.

When she had left him, said her goodbyes, she had expected that he would disappear from her heart like the many people before him. That she could leave him behind and never look back.

Instead, he was lodged behind her ribcage, pressing on her lungs, making her heart ache with every breath.

Part of her hated him for it.

"Hayley, what is it? Is something wrong?" 

The bigger part of her loves him, deeply, without reservation.

"When I was a wolf," she says without preamble, her tone challenging, "I fought a vampire."

Elijah stills, expression going carefully blank. 

"Was it you?"

After a brief hesitation, Elijah nods. 

"And the vampire holding me," - her voice is shaking now- "was that you too?"

Elijah swallows.

"Yes."

His voice is hoarse and Hayley's throat clenches at the different emotions warring on his face. Longing, and fondness, and guilt.

"I could not let you wander into the city, Hayley," Elijah says quietly,his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry."

Hayley blinks, momentarily puzzled. She had been so focussed on _his fingers in her fur_ that she had not even considered the reason _why_ he had been holding her. But he had stopped her from going after Hope. He had stopped her from following the ache that pulled her towards her daughter by quelling the ache that pulled her towards him.

"Guess it would have been anticlimactic if I got run over by a truck," she whispers, mind fuzzy.

She is tired. Tired of being on edge. Tired of being angry. Tired of dividing her loyalty between her pack and the Mikaelsons with Hope caught between them.

Jackson tried to understand her. But Jackson's love - for her, for the pack, for Hope - is uncomplicated. His choices are simple. He does not understand how she could rage at the Mikaelsons one day and fight for them the next. He did not understand how her fury at Klaus could go hand in hand with an immense gratefulness that his plan had worked. 

He did not understand how much she had to hold back, afraid that if she truly showed him the ugliness inside her, the pain and fear and rage, that she would break him.

He did not understand how much she just wanted to scream.

Hot tears are running down her cheeks and angrily she rubs them away, her hands shaking. 

She hates this. Hates the lack of control, hates-

Elijah's fingers curl around her wrist. Her muscles tense automatically. Jackson never dared to touch her when she is like this.

But Elijah's grip tightens. Not painfully, but securely, his strength easily matching her own. 

"Shh, Hayley. Come here," he whispers. One of his hands winds through her hair and it is familiar, so familiar, like his fingers trailing through her fur.

A desperate sob tears from her throat as he pulls her against him, all her the frustration and fear and anger from the last months finally set free.

Anger at Klaus. Anger at Davina. Anger at Dahlia. 

Anger at herself, for being unable to protect her daughter. 

She screams in Elijah's shoulder, beats against his chest, her whole body struggling, and like a rock in the river he lets it wash over him, holding her steady and upright as she shakes in his arms. 

When all her energy is spend, she collapses against him and hugs him back, burying her nose in his shoulder. Elijah's fingers continue to stroke through her hair, calming, reassuring, and she closes her eyes as exhaustion sets in. 

She doesn't know how long he holds her, but finally she has to step away. He lets her go, and she immediately misses the warmth of his touch. 

"I ruined your shirt," she whispers sheepishly, briefly touching his shoulder.

"I have a spare."

Hayley chuckles through her stuffed nose. Her head is throbbing, and she could sleep for a week, but she does feel better. 

"There is running water below, if you want to refresh yourself."

Elijah keeps his voice low and calm, and watches her in a quiet understanding. 

"Thank you."

She tries to lace her answer with as much gratitude as she can. Not only for today but for all the times he has helped her.

It is not enough.

Elijah nods, expression guarded, the gap between them already broadening again.

She is selfish, forcing him through this. Asking for his support when she can't give her own. But she can't betray Jackson. He is a good man. She has to think of Hope. She can't-

"Do you wish to help with the recruits? You're expertise would be valuable."

Elijah's question catches her off guard, resetting her train of thoughts.

"My expertise is punching people," she deadpans, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly. Come on."

Only when Hayley has cleaned herself up and is standing in the fighting ring opposite Marcel, she realizes what he has done.

She shakes her head at him internally with a soft smile. She could fight for him too. Love him in a different way. Not directly, but through her actions instead.

Hopefully that would suppress the ache inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
